'Wall of water' swept teen, man down arroyo in seconds

The time lapse video near Menaul and I-40 shows water rising several feet in a matter of minutes. But for now, only a trickle remains.

"They did not know it was coming because it wasn't raining where they were," said Jerry Lovato with the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority.

He said it doesn't take much water to sweep a person off their feet.

"If you have approximately 2 feet of water, all you need is 5 feet a second, and you can't stand up," Lovato said.

That was the case on Wednesday when two people were swept by up to 4 feet of water. The man in the arroyo near I-40 and Carlisle went downstream approximately 3.5 miles, while the young girl was swept down the Embudo Arroyo near Winrock. She traveled close to 2.5 miles in 20 minutes.

Luckily, there are areas where firefighters can get to people who've been swept by flood waters.

"It's always the luck of the draw where you fall into the channel, but the fire department does have designated areas to make rescues," Lovato said.

Watch lapel camera video from responding officers below:

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